Special Notice / Hearing: None__
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Supervisor Ray Mueller, District 3
Supervisor Jackie Speier, District 1
Subject: Adoption of a Resolution Authorizing and Directing the Office of Labor Standards and Enforcement and the Environmental Health Services Division to Implement a Pilot Program to Enforce Final Judgments for Labor Law Violations Through Food Service Permitting
RECOMMENDATION:
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Adopt a resolution authorizing and directing the Office of Labor Standards and Enforcement (OLSE) and the Environmental Health Services Division (EHS) to implement a pilot program to enforce final judgments for labor law violations through food service permitting.
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BACKGROUND:
San Mateo County has long affirmed the importance of safe, healthy, and fair working conditions as essential to economic security, dignity, and public health. For this reason, the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to launch an Office of Labor Standards and Enforcement (OLSE) to advance fair labor practices in the County. In addition to enforcing the County's minimum wage ordinance and conducting outreach to workers and employers, the Board has charged OLSE with exploring innovative enforcement tools to promote labor law compliance.
Drawing on the successful experience of jurisdictions including Santa Clara County, San Diego County, and San Francisco, OLSE has identified an opportunity to leverage the County's food permitting process to support workers in accessing restitution owed to them for stolen wages. Dozens of San Mateo County employers owe unpaid wages to their workers under final judgments issued by the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE). Many of these judgments have been unpaid for years, undermining workers' rights and fair competition. Yet several of these employers hold active permits to operate food facilities within the County and continue to openly do business despit...
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